An emergency fire shelter is a compact, tent-like structure providing emergency protection to a firefighter trapped by a rapidly advancing forest fire. The fire shelter is constructed of materials that are resistant to radiant and convective heat. An example of such a material is a heat-reflecting foil bonded to the outside of a fiberglass cloth. A combination of flexible materials allows the fire shelter to be accordion folded into a compact brick that can be carried with the firefighter at all times. Thus, the selection of materials for use in the construction of an emergency fire shelter is critical to its effectiveness.
Several layered materials are designed to provide a shield from a variety of environmental hazards including heat and fire. However, there is a need for an improved light, flexible, and strong material which provides protection from radiant and convective heat. Such a material would not only be used in construction of emergency fire shelters, but could also be used as a shield against fire and heat in other settings including, for instance, fire barriers, heat shields, fire proof curtains and the like.
Emergency fire shelters in use today share the same form as a pup tent, triangular in shape. Such a design is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,388 to Petrilli et. al. A problem with emergency fire shelters currently used is that they have flat, triangular ends that are perpendicular to the ground and reflect radiant energy. Reflection of this energy to the ground immediately adjacent to the fire shelter increases the likelihood that fire will start adjacent to the shelter, thus allowing damage to the fire shelter prior to the arrival of the flame front. Accordingly, there is a need for an emergency fire shelter design that minimizes such heat transfer. More information on prior art fire shelters and their use is contained in “Your Fire Shelter” and “Your Fire Shelter, Beyond the Basics” published by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Technology and Development Program, under Codes NFES 1750 and 2179, hereby incorporated by reference.
An emergency fire shelter is inevitably deployed under emergency situations and time is frequently of the essence. Ideal deployment is in an area removed from large amounts of combustible material. For this reason, the initial stages of deployment may occur while the firefighter is running to a safe deployment area. When using many of the prior art fire shelters, the removal of the fire shelter from its carrying case may be hampered by the firefighter's dropping of his or her backpack to obtain greater mobility and to jettison dangerous combustible materials such as fusees.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an emergency fire shelter that is easier and faster to deploy. Such a shelter would require ease of transport by fire fighters and protection during prolonged periods of storage.